I choose PT. Centrin Online Tbk. for doing my apprenticeship because it is one of the well-known internet providers in Bandung. It has a lot of customers and has been successful for several years selling their products and services. Moreover, the company has never stopped innovating their products and services. I hope that I can learn how to be successful in my real job in the future.
I become a Marketing staff at PT. Centrin Online Tbk. As a Marketing staff, I need to know how to build good communication with the customers to prevent miscommunication and misunderstanding between the customers and me. PT. Centrin Online Tbk. hopes that I can give satisfactory service to its customers.
PT. Centrin Online which is under PT. CENTRIN (Central Rama Informatik), is one of the internet service providers in Bandung. PT. CENTRIN is a hardware provider for information industries. At the beginning of 1996, PT. CENTRIN, cooperated with PT. Satelindo, built an information and communication service provider company named PT. Centrin Utama. In October 1996, PT. Centrin Utama built an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Bandung named PT. Centrin Online in Jalan Braga 76.
There are some requirements to be a Marketing staff at PT. Centrin Online Tbk.:
• Have good manners and appearance, also neatly dressed
• Have skills in using computer and have good knowledge about the
internet
• Have a wide perspective about the internet, be able to communicate
creatively, and be friendly
• Have good confidence and responsibility • Able to speak English actively
There are certain tasks to be done at PT. Centrin Online Tbk. I have to give the right information about products and services to customers through the telephone. I am also responsible to handle complaints from the customers and to give clarification by the telephone. The other task is to help the Marketing staff to make a confirmation letter in English foreign customers. To get more experience outside the office, the company asks me to join the Account Executive while doing presentation, thus I can learn about how to make a good presentation and offerings. The last task is to give written reports to my supervisor about my activities during my apprenticeship at PT. Centrin Online Tbk. in English.
PT. Centrin Online Tbk. has provided some facilities to aid me doing my job. There are two computers with internet access, a printer, a telephone, and brochures which are used together by five Marketing Staffs in the marketing office.
I start doing the apprenticeship from January 6th, 2006 to February 3rd, 2006. I do the apprenticeship from Monday to Friday, starting from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is lunch break every day from 12 to 1 p.m., except on Saturdays. At the beginning, I need to know first about the products and services offered by PT. Centrin Online Tbk. This task is done by reading brochures or getting information on the internet website. Thus, I can give the right information to the new customers or handle the complaints from the customers by phone. Later on, I join the Account Executive in doing presentation outside the office.
The most dominant tasks are:
• Learning about the company products and services by reading the
brochures or surfing the website
• Introducing and promoting products and services offered by PT.
Centrin Online Tbk. through the telephone • Writing reports to the supervisor
In my apprenticeship, I use two kinds of English skills, namely reading and writing skills. Reading skill is used to get information about products and services in the brochures and internet website, while writing skill is used to write a report which is submitted to the supervisor. Thus, I do not have to use all of my English skills to do the apprenticeship at PT. Centrin Online Tbk. For example, I speak Indonesian instead of English to my office partners, so there is no way I can use my speaking skill in my apprenticeship. It takes not just English skills to do either apprenticeship or real job, I need others skills as well, such as operating the computer, surfing the internet, and communcation skills.
English, one of the international languages, has an important role while I am doing my apprenticeship. Almost every aspect of my tasks at PT. Centrin Online Tbk. is done using English skills. Public Relation and Communication subject has helped me to build a good communication with the customers. Another subject, Critical Reading, has helped me to comprehend the brochures faster. Last but not least is Practical Writing, which has helped me to write good reports and letters.
I have not improved my English skills after doing the apprenticeship at PT. Centrin Online Tbk., on the other hand I have learned better communication skills to face customers. I also learn new words related to the internet, such as
bandwidth, dial-up access, and so on. Finally, I learn to adapt with my new partners at the working place.
PT. Centrin Online Tbk., one of the market leaders of internet provider services and has a good reputation in the eyes of its customers. Nevertheless, I suggest that PT. Centrin Online Tbk. improve its facilities used by the Marketing division, such as adding more computers, because sometimes one has to wait for another staff to finish using the computer. Thus, the Marketing staff can work more optimally. I hope there will be more places to do the apprenticeship, especially related to business. In my opinion, there are more students who are interested in business than teaching; on the contrary, the places to do business apprenticeship are very limited..
